Friday, September 11, 2015

Gopala Champu 5: Krishna's return to Vraja and marriage to gopis

2.3 Kṛṣṇa-pūrṇa-vraja-vilāsa

(Chapters 22-37) Krishna's pastimes culminating with his return to Vraja and marriage to the gopis. The book ends with the ascension into the divine Goloka. Again, links don't work.

Chapters 22-24

These chapters continue in the same vein as those of the previous division, describing Balaram's disposal of Dvivida and chastisement of the Kauravas at Hastinapur (x.67-8). The most innovative portion is the displacement of the Kurukshetra meeting which comes at the end of BhP x (82-4) to GCU 23-4. This story of the reunion of the Vrajavasis with Krishna after their long years of separation is original to BhP and Jiva has exploited the possibilities of the situation by expanding greatly on its emotional aspects. Jiva follows VT in explaining the reasons for the change in order, primarily because the presence of Duryodhan, Bhishma, etc. in the company of the Pandavas indicates that this event took place prior to the 13 years of the Pandavas' exile. Yudhishthira is said to have taken the throne at the age of 60; Krishna is three years his junior. Krishna would thus have been 44 years old at the time of this meeting, 33 years after his departure from Vraja.

The account begins when a messenger tells Nanda et al of Krishna's decision to go to Kurukshetra for the solar eclipse. Nanda makes a similar decision in the hope of seeing Krishna. A letter comes from Krishna revealing his enthusiasm for seeing the Vrajavasins there.

In an evening session, Krishna sends a letter to the gopis asking them to also come to meet him at Kurukshetra. The gopis' husbands give their permission to their wives for the trip, while they themselves stay behind to care for the cattle. In the years since Krishna's departure, though their wives' feelings for Krishna had long since come out into the open, while their own freedom from envy of him had remained unchanged.

At the next morning session, Madhukantha describes how Nanda, etc., make their way to Kurukshetra. After their arrival, Krishna and Balaram enter Yashoda's tent and have an emotional reunion. Yashoda compares notes with Rohini and Devaki. The simple-minded Devaki says to Yashoda things that indicate Yashoda is not Krishna's real mother, but this latter does not react because of her ecstasy in seeing Krishna again.

In the next evening session, Krishna meets the gopis at night when everyone else is asleep. The ecstatic encounter is described. The significant words of Krishna's speech from BhP are commented upon as is the gopis' response. Further conversation and further nights of joyous union at Kurukshetra follow. Krishna's queens praise the gopis' love, in particular, that of Radha.

Chapters 25-28

These four chapters contain the chain of events that result in Krishna's return to Vraja. Chapter 25 starts with a portion of x.85, Krishna's returning the dead sons of Devaki to her (x.85). The rest of these chapters covers BhP x.70-77.

The simultaneous arrival of an invitation from Yudhishthira to attend the Rajasuya sacrifice in Indraprastha and the the appeal from certain kings held captive by Jarasandha, the king of Mithila, result in Krishna's making a trip east from Dvaraka. After Bhima splits Jarasandha in two (26) and Krishna kills Shishupala at the Rajasuya sacrifice (27), Krishna is obliged to hurry back to Dvaraka to deal with the attack of Salva, whom he kills after bringing down his flying fortress (28).

Chapter 29: Evidence for the narrations to come

This chapter is unlike any other in GC, with the exception of the first two chapters of Purva-champu, in that Madhukantha and Snigdhakantha are not said to recite it. It is said that when Krishna's battle with Salva had started and the entire Vraja was paralyzed with fear and grief, Vrinda Devi approached Paurnamasi to inquire about future events. Paurnamasi asks Vrinda to read the scriptural portents found in a book of prophecy which Paurnamasi likens in appearance to the form of Krishna.(48)This book, which consists exclusively of quotations from BhP, etc., is read aloud by Vrinda and commented on and explained by Paurnamasi. The most important of its citations are those taken from PadP which state explicitly that which BhP never does, viz. that Krishna returns to Vraja after his long sojourn in Dvaraka.(49)The direct inspiration for the chapter comes, however, from VT 78.13, i.e. Sanatan's discussion of x.77.37, 78.1-13, all of which are quoted here (i.29.19). These verses narrate the killing of Dantavakra and Viduratha.

The conclusions of this chapter are expressed in three of the only five original verses interspersed as summarizations of Paurnamasi's lengthy commentary:

The impression that the gopis,
whose lips were tasted by Lord Krishna
and who defeat the glories of Sri,
could have been enjoyed by others in the course of marriage or otherwise,
is created by the power of illusion.
Fie on those who, devoid of devotion for both Krishna and the gopis,
take this wicked lie to be true;
could those who are devoted to them
desire for or listen to any such a thing?(50)

If Krishna did not return from Dvaraka
to remain again in the cowherd settlement,
then his entire lila would be devoid of rasa—
the joys that came with his birth,
each moment of his growth, his accumulating beauty,
the increasing affection of the Vrajavasis for him,
the fulfilment of his lilas in the rasa dance
and the numerous assurances that he gave during their separation,
it would all become completely meaningless.(51)

Krishna's absence is a kind of pleasure in itself, though secondary; by its very nature it promotes the joy that will come when he reappears. If the rasa reached its fulfillment in Vraja alone, then this joy would never be experienced.(52)

Chapter 30: The description of Keshava's return to the land of Vraja

This is the last chapter to use BhP material as a source, retelling the story of the killing of Dantavakra with the adjustments made from the Padma Purana account of the same event. These are the elements of BhP x.78 that have been subjected to lengthy exegesis in the previous chapter. After this, Jiva begins to expand from the passages of PadP mentioned above and which form the scriptural basis for the remaining seven chapters of Gopala Champu.

Dantavakra and Viduratha attack Krishna and meet their end, their souls merging into Krishna's effulgence. Krishna goes to Vishram Ghat in Mathura where he lays down his arms for good and bathes, gives in charity to the brahmanas and then inquires as to the present location of his goshtha.

Meanwhile, the Vrajavasins are worried due to having received only partial information about Krishna since the battle with Salva. Then they receive Krishna's last letter in which he states that his arrival is imminent. Just then he crosses the Yamuna, blows his conchshell and all the Vrajavasins run toward him. Paurnamasi, Vrinda and Madhumangala come on the scene, being seen by them for the first time since Krishna's departure so many years before. Paurnamasi tells Krishna to rest in the shade of a tree and everyone else to bring him food, for he has not eaten since leaving Indraprastha. Krishna would then enter the settlement in the evening. Krishna explains that he wishes to wait until Balaram comes so that he might do so in his company. Paurnamasi counters by saying that he should give pleasure to everyone on that very day. Krishna is distressed to see the bedraggled condition of the Vrajavasins who have sacrificed all their possessions for religious acts dedicated to his protection and safe return. He gives them gifts of jewels and clothes and receives in turn similar gifts of clothing from them. Krishna thus gives up the kshatriya clothing and dons the apparel suitable for a cowherd. After eating, he gets on his chariot, and surrounded by bullock carts, amidst music and showers of flowers, enters the goshtha and finally his own parents' house where he spends the evening gossiping with his friends until going to sleep. One outstanding feature of the Vraja he remarks is that physically no one has changed at all from the way they were when he left them so long before:

Krishna saw everyone in the goshtha looking just as they had
on the day he left to go to kill Kamsa,
the same size and age, even after all that time.
How could a nonentity like time forcibly change them,
even if given aeons to do so,
when they are the objects of his constant meditation?(53)

The evening session conducted by Madhukantha focuses on the gopis' emotional reactions at each step of Krishna's entry into Vraja. It ends with the verse,

When he entered the cowherd settlement
after having lifted the excessive burden from the world,
he was soon seen by all, including Radha.
Though her vision was interrupted
by the flickering of her eyelids, tears and trembling,
she still looked at him again,
and then passed a night without repose.(54)

To this Madhukantha comments,

Previously you considered separation from Krishna to be union,
and now you take union to be its opposite;
it is thus better for us to keep silent
about things we do not understand.(55)

Chapter 31: Resolving the doubts of Radha and the other gopis

This chapter and the next could be considered among the most important of GC in that the obstacles to the betrothal and marriage of the gopis to Krishna are therein removed. They shall therefore be discussed in slightly more detail than others have been so far in this summary.

This chapter contains a short morning session and a rather longer evening one. On the morning after Krishna's arrival, he follows a schedule not unlike that described in GCP 2. He first sees his mother who showers him with love and then goes to his father's assembly, after which he then spends the rest of the day with the cows and cowherds. Upon his return in the evening, he is invited for days ahead to take his daily repast by Upananda, Abhinanda and the other residents of Vraja. Daruka, Krishna's charioteer who is witness to all this, thinks,

Krishna, the killer of demons, lived in Dvaraka as a king,
but here he is subject to the residents of Vraja,
like a debtor who owes more than he possesses.(56)

In the evening session, Krishna feels cautious about publicly declaring his feelings for Radha and the gopis.

Previously I felt much embarrassed before the people
and so I left on the excuse of killing Kamsa.
I have returned specifically to bring the gopis back to life,
but still the deep sense of embarrassment has not deserted me.(57)

That meeting previously arranged by me on the field of Kurukshetra
was like a drop of water on a heated frying pan -
nothing at all to those who searched for it.
But in Vraja, it should be the opposite of that.(58)

Though Krishna decides to wait in silent indifference for some time, after a moment he reconsiders, thinking that there is nothing to be gained by such indifference. After all, after his departure from Vraja, the gopis had ceased making any pretence about the nature of their relation with him. Radha had even declared that she and the other gopis no longer had any home at all. For this very reason, however, Krishna felt even more shame, a shame which could be dispelled only if the gopis' marriages to other men could somehow be annulled. Their validity had previously been negated by Shukadeva but by reference to Krishna's divine status, which was altogether inappropriate in the present circumstances. In Gokula, the only solution could be through marriage with the gopis according to the local customs.(59)The distress of the gopis would increase in the waiting, which in turn would cause further misery for Krishna, but still he could not see a way out of the quandary.

At this juncture, Paurnamasi again appears with Vrinda and Madhumangala. She berates Krishna somewhat for being distressed. Why, she asks, do you not accept Radha the way you did Rukmini? After all, scripture says,rukmiṇī dvāravatyāṁ tu rādhā vṛndāvane vane.(60)Krishna responds that the Vrajavasins do not see things that way. Paurnamasi then confesses,

This is not the fault of the people of Gokula, but of myself who am tormented by fate. When Radha and the gopis' fathers searched for a suitable match for their daughters, they intended only you. The instructions of Garga, given on Vasudeva's order, turned them from this purpose. Then, for the purpose of passing the time until they could eventually be given to you, by my magical powers I created the illusion throughout Vraja that they had been married elsewhere, through a dream which was taken for wakefulness. Thus they came to see those men as their sons-in-law, though it was a matter of regret.(61)

Krishna responds, even if it is a matter of regret, they are nevertheless convinced of the relation and thus the fault still remains. Paurnamasi argues that since the relation arises out of a dream-like illusion, and since, unlike Rukmini's father Bhishmaka, Radha's father had never sought to contract any other marriage, there could be no fault. Krishna continues to be unconvinced, "The fault lies in that the gopis too consider these men to be their husbands and that they slept with them." (62)Paurnamasi again denies both premises and launches again into a litany of BhP quotations in which she shows that the gopis considered Krishna alone to be their husband and that they had known no physical intimacy with their so-called spouses. The means by which this was done was through Yogamaya's creation of the gopis' Doppelgangers, who had replaced them for all such unsavoury functions. Paurnamasi promised to reveal this to all of Vraja in order to remove the trance and the fake gopis.

She concludes by appealing to Krishna for sympathy for Radha's condition,

Fire is everywhere famed for consuming that which gives it shelter, if the same reputation is attained by love for you, you will be criticised as a result.(63)

Paurnamasi then goes to cheer the gopis up. They have written a letter in which they state their decision to commit suicide, much in the way that Rukmini had done in her letter to Krishna:

If he is apprehensive, or if his father or family are ashamed, then we shall quickly enter fire to realize our desires. This is the promise of us young girls, whose tears are flowing. Without him we will not be consoled, nor shall we maintain our lives.(64)

Paurnamasi tests the gopis by acting the devil's advocate and arguing in favour of the parakiya status quo, stating that the fear and shame which restrain one alone give love for Krishna the edge by which the ultimate good is attained. By seeking to be married, the gopis would subvert such an attainment. Their answer:

Let those women alone take this restraint as a means to a higher state, others [like us] will not. We others would consider ourselves unfortunate to have such an awareness. The only thing which can 'restrain' one from obtaining him is the absence of any love for him. Those such as we seek the higher awareness [as found in the queens of Dvaraka when it was said about them] 'Even though he was by their side in complete privacy, they still found his lotus feet to be ever new'.(65)

After the gopis finish saying this and are crying without being able to utter a further word, Paurnamasi thinks,

Those who do not know that
these women of Vraja are Krishna's eternal spouses,
are of the opinion that they achieved the supreme reward
when they attained him as their paramour.
But those who understand that they are his eternal wives
take such an opinion to be an insult to them;
how could such an insult bring happiness to any devotee?(65)

Paurnamasi thus gives up her pretence and reveals Krishna's real feelings for them, saying that his intentions toward them are honest. The gopis are pleased by this and say in response:

Just as Sita Devi had to suffer
through the calamity created by Ravana,
and just as Rukmini suffered the calamity
of being promised in marriage to Shishupala,
so too, Radha and the other gopis suffered the calamity
of going to reside in the houses of other men.
But how could their well-wishers consider this
to be their eternal situation?(66)

Paurnamasi quietly agrees, saying to herself,

The shadow of Rahu falls over the moon,
but not forever, it is just a bit of playfulness -
a stain that remains forever is displeasing to all minds.(67)

The gopis then make a speech (in fact a repetition of GCP 33.268) in which they describe their sufferings and condemn anyone who could think that the plight of the parakiya nayika could lead to rasa.

Chapter 32: The celebration of the resolution of everyone's doubts

This chapter continues the setting of the scene for the wedding of Krishna and the gopis. To the verbal explanations advanced in the previous chapter, Jiva adds a concrete, miraculous element as Paurnamasi makes good her word to expose the reality to all the Vrajavasis. The essential dramatic events of this chapter have been found in GCP 33, some details differing slightly. Since the events described here were witnessed by everyone in Vraja, the recital of this chapter is assisted by all the residents at the morning session.

The happiness of the Vraja increases day by day after Krishna's return, but Nanda and Yashoda express reservations about Krishna's chariot, fearing that he may still leave again. Despite Krishna's reassurances that he has no such intention, they will only be assured, they say, if Krishna does as he did in Dvaraka and sets up house.(68)Balaram, Rohini and Uddhava are brought back to Vraja by Daruka, Krishna's charioteer. Balaram brings with him the parrots the gopis had previously sent to Krishna. Snigdhakantha comments wryly about Balaram's return,

Observe: Vasudeva stole by deception both Nanda's daughter and son for himself. Now Krishna has been doubled by Vasudeva's own son Balaram, thus fulfilling his father, Nanda.(69)

A few days after Rama's return, Krishna's parents go to see Paurnamasi and tell of their desire to see Krishna married. She asks which cowherd girls they had in mind, and they answer, Dhanya and the other girls who performed the Katyayani vrata, for as explained, these girls have remained virgins and dedicated to Krishna. Paurnamasi asks why they have not considered Radha and the other special gopis. Krishna's parents reply ingenuously, "If you think well of these girls, then they must be very qualified; how then could we not accept them. But who are they?"

Paurnamasi tells them that they too are still virgins and explains once again that which she had told Krishna. Unquestioningly accepting Paurnamasi's words, Krishna's parents inquire about the gopis themselves as well as their parents. Paurnamasi assures them that everyone is favourable to the new arrangement, for they think,

If our daughters, the essence of whose lives is Krishna, are saved like deer from the deep mouth of a tiger, then they can join with the youthful stag, Krishna.(70)

Nanda is still worried about Garga's warning that if the gopis were to marry Krishna Gokula would again be plunged into the darkness of separation. Paurnamasi assures them that Garga had seen the future and had attributed the association with the gopis as the cause, but in fact that was only his opinion. In reality, union with the gopis was an auspicious act and could not be the cause of any separation.(71)

When asked by Nanda and Yashoda about public opinion, especially that of the gopis' so-called in-laws, Paurnamasi says she will take care of that and tells them to call a public assembly of all the residents of the community on the next day.

The following morning, when everyone including Radha, etc., has gathered, Paurnamasi tells some women to go to every house for not absolutely everyone has arrived. These women return with the amazing news that they have seen Radha and her friends still sitting in the houses of their in-laws. As soon as these, the Doppelgangers, are also brought to the gathering, Paurnamasi sits down to meditate on Vishnumaya,(73)who manifests herself to everyone's amazement in an eight-armed form. The goddess, coming near to all, says,

Never have any doubts about this, oh father, mother, oh relatives; in order to obstruct the plans of Garga, I created clones of some of the original gopis so that these would not be taken to the conjugal beds of their so-called husbands.

How can I avoid protecting from contamination those whom I know my own brother will accept as wives when I am powerful in all things?(74)

She says that previously she had similarly created maya bodies for Sita, Samjna and Rati.(75)

Then, in front of the shocked audience, she demonstrates the truth of her statements and the imitation gopis are brought before them, exactly the same in every way as the originals. The goddess says,

Whenever the appropriate situation arose
I would either hide or manifest
one or the other of these two groups of gopis,
thus the secret was never brought out into the open.(76)

She then challenges the audience to tell the difference between the two groups. Nanda and Yashoda say to one another,

When glass and jewels appear the same to the eye,
then they are given for examination to a jeweller,
who is himself tested by his analysis.
Similarly, we have been ordered to distinguish
Radha and her friends from the imitations,
by which we are also being put to the test.(77)

The goddess orders the two groups to be placed side by side, at which everyone triumphantly states,

The moon shines bright in the absence of the sun, but when placed next to it, it appear to have no lustre.(78)

When Nanda asks what is to follow, the goddess tells him that the original Radha, etc. should return to their parental home, while the others should go and rejoin their husbands. After this, the goddess returns to her own abode [According to GCP 33.303, she goes to stay in a building near the Yamuna banks, making her identification with Paurnamasi overt.] When Vrishabhanu and the other parents wanted to take the original gopis home with them, however, they were not ready to accept the proposal. They said as follows,

Even though Devi has shown how things are, we nevertheless think that other than fire, nothing else can eradicate the ill-repute that has accrued to us. We do not think therefore that it is proper that we return to our fathers' homes at present, but rather our bodies should be placed in fire to prove our purity. We have indeed previously written an affidavit (pratijna patra) to this effect.

And the following letter was shown to everyone.

In word, thought, deed, in wakefulness and in dream,
if we have fallen away from the son of the cowherd king,
then let our bodies be turned to ash
in a trial by fire in the assembly of the king.(79)

Just at that moment the famous fiery-tempered ascetic Durvasas, dressed in clothes of bark, comes on the scene of confused Vrajavasins. In the land of Krishna devotion, he is in a better temper than usual. He confirms again, quoting his own words in Gopala Tapani Upanishad,sa vo hi svAmI bhavati("He is your very own husband"). The Vrajavasis answer that it is not they, but rather the gopis who are feeling uncomfortable with the present circumstances and were seeking to undergo trial by fire.

Though the sage laughs openly and states the lack of necessity for such an ordeal, he agrees to produce a fire out of his mystic powers for that purpose.

If these girls are not pure,
then Krishna has no compassion for them,
and if they be engulfed in the flames of this compassion,
then what can a worldly fire achieve?
Whether it be ordinary fire, the undersea volcano, the sun,
or even Rudra with his flames at the end of time [are all helpless].(80)

In order to prove
the single-minded devotion they had for Krishna,
the gopis walked into the muni's fire.
Holding fast to the truth, they then walked out again--
Lo! not even the hems of their dresses were singed!
instead, they took on a new, virginal beauty.(81)

Durvasas then leaves. The gopis are praised by even their former in-laws, while they themselves continue to show them the customary respect. They then go home with their own parents.

This is followed a few days later by the official agreement on both Krishna's and Balaram's marriages by the two sets of parents and the giving of gifts by the bride's families to the prospective grooms. Again a few days later, again at Paurnamasi's instigation, the dates for the nuptials are set by astrologers. When the auspicious moment is selected, Nanda asks Paurnamasi if this is the time which is most appropriate for all the girls, and how will they all be wed simultaneously, they being in such large number. Madhumangala's solution is to have Krishna's flute, garlands, etc. stand in for him with other gopis, the actual Krishna presumably staying with Radha. Paurnamasi, however, tells everyone not to worry, she would exercise her powers as Yogamaya and all the girls would find themselves accompanied by Krishna himself. This prompts Nanda to swear a type of fealty to her, saying that whatever perfections they have had the good fortune to attain, all has everywhere and always been due to her, and that therefore she should know him to be her follower. Paurnamasi answers that who is the leader and who the follower can be decided at some future date. At present the rite of giving Krishna tilak, the concluding rite of the marriage agreement must be completed. This ceremony is carried out by the priests of the brides' families.

Chapters 33-5: The wedding celebration

The next three chapters which describe the wedding(s) of Krishna are all morning recitals. The first tells of the preparations and preliminary festivities (adhivasa). Jiva comments on the miraculous nature of countless millions of marriages taking place all at once. Balaram's marriage precedes that of Krishna, but is only dealt with summarily.

In chapter 34, Madhukantha describes the bathing and dressing of Radha and Krishna as they prepare themselves for the wedding ceremony. This chapter is written almost entirely in ganacchandas and each verse describes not only Radha and Krishna's physical alamkaras, but contains some sort of poetic ornament as well.

In chapter 35 (Snigdhakantha) describes the entry of Krishna's wedding procession into Vrishabhanu's village where it is met by the parents of the brides. The women of the village sing saucy songs, to which Madhumangala responds with witticisms. Various aspects of the traditional wedding ceremony including numerous folk customs are described, notably the songs of the sakhis, etc.

The following morning Nanda asks that the bride and groom return to his house. As Radha and Krishna are ready to leave, Vrishabhanu gives instructions to Krishna and then says goodbye to them both. Upon arrival at Nanda's house, they find that Yashoda has prepared a great festival, the women of the village singing songs of greeting. Krishna's other wives arrive and are accepted by Yashoda, but she shows particular affection for Radha. Other rituals are performed on the fourth day. On the fifth day, Krishna goes with his brides to feast at the in-laws' houses, for the occasion of the "second coming". Sridama and Krishna's other friends also get married. The chapter ends with comments on the meaning of Radha and Krishna's marriage.

The wedding of Radha and Madhava, which has been central
to the auspicious completion of this work of poetry,
also brings about the completion of their love.
If their love, whose goal was to attain
a life together without external disturbances,
did not culminate in a marriage that officially made them one,
it would have been rendered barren.(82)

Chapter 36: The auspicious event of Radha and Madhava's union

This chapter can be loosely said to take its inspiration from PadP vi.279.25-26, verses which describe Krishna's dalliances with the gopis after his return to Vraja, previously interpreted in GCP 29.63 as indicating the post-marital state.

Some days after the wedding, despite the great happiness and sense of fulfilment that Krishna and the gopis feel, the marriage is not yet consummated.

Previously, when the gopis and Krishna
suffered the illusion of illicit love,
they thought no one could divine their union,
and thus enjoyed without inhibition.
Now, however, they thought,
"Because we are married everyone will know what we are up to,"
and thus succumbed to shyness.
And though they yearned for dalliance,
they remained inert.(83)

Vrinda comes on Paurnamasi's instruction to encourage Krishna to his marital duty, warning him that the gopis are unhappy. Then Paurnamasi herself proposes a month-long puja of Radha and Krishna as a ploy to stimulate them. This is to take place in the privacy of the woods which entails an abhisara as in the old days. This leads Vrinda to consider, however, the superiority of married love, comparing shyness inside marriage and out.

Krishna, Radha, etc. meet in a forest bower and Paurnamasi performs the puja, after which she utters the vijnapti, that they should rest in the bower which has so lovingly been prepared by Vrinda. The memories of separation are so intense, however, that both Radha and Krishna cry the whole night, leaving the marriage still unconsummated. The same events are repeated the following midday, but on the following evening there is success at last. The sakhis sing to the couple in the morning; Lalita and Vishakha joke about their dishevelled condition. Radha asks Krishna to give Lalita and Vishakha a turn. Radha dresses Krishna up as herself and in this disguise he manages to have his way with Radha's two friends. Radha then requests that he satisfy all the gopis; this leads to a performance of the rasa dance which Paurnamasi directs.

Several days later, Radha states to Vishakha that her happiness is not yet complete, citing the famous yaḥ kaumāra-haraḥ verse.(84)Krishna, who has been eavesdropping agrees, but changes the last line of the verse, interpreting it to mean that Radha wishes to return to the bowers by the banks of the Yamuna. Krishna says that the problem can be solved by crossing to the south bank of the Yamuna, where Vrindavan lies.

Chapter 37: The entry into Goloka, the locus of all happiness

This chapter is based on the single passage from Padma Purana vi.279.27-28 in which Krishna is said to despatch the residents of Vraja to Vaikuntha which Jiva has already interpreted as referring to Goloka (GCP 29.76ff).

Krishna states his desire to go to Vrindavan, with which Nanda also concurs. He wishes, not only that the Vrajavasins should never again be bereft of Krishna's association, but that Vasudeva's heart too might not be broken. Krishna promises that that shall be so. He then orders Daruka to increase the size of his chariot so that the entire goshtha can be brought on board, and they set off for Goloka. The greater portion of the chapter contains descriptions of Goloka following the Brahma-samhita as in GCP 1, bringing the great work around full circle to the place where it started. After the two bards' performance, they are praised. The Vrajavandis praise Krishna with lengthyviruda-style panegyrics.

In the evening session, the gopis ask Krishna for a more intimate location for their loves. Krishna responds by creating the underground gardens described in GCP 1.78. The gopis are still not satisfied until Krishna reveals that the underground gardens open into Vrindavan, Radha Kund, and the other places they shared their intimate pastimes. There they engage in the rasa dance again. The recital finishes with Madhukantha's glorification of Radha and theviruda-recital in her honour given by some vandinis. Radha and Krishna, inspired by the tale of their previous activities, then retire to the intimacy of their own chambers.

Jiva concludes with satisfaction at having achieved his purpose in writing GC:

The ambrosia of both worlds
for which I originally began writing this pair of champus
manifested without blemish in my heart.
By it, which has the mutual joy of Radha and Krishna as its essence
we have arrived at the divine destination and remain in the highest heaven,
where all happiness resides.(85)

ṭhe nature of lajjā and its role in love is discussed by rinda GCU 36.37. ḻink to svakiya article. ḥere hovever riśnas embarrassment is a result of being implicated in adulterous activity. riśnas departure vas intended to overcome this embarrassment but has not been sucessful and vill not be until they are married.

73. ṭhough ve knov from ṅ 2.28 that aurnamasi is ogamaya in another form śe is not ekṣpressly knovn as suc by the rajavasis vho see her as a poverful ascetic. ṣe does not here reveal her identity vith this particular incarnation of that deity also named iśnumaya ḍevi or ṣarvamangala in this section. riśnas sister born to aśoda and taken as the replacement for the baby riśna by asudeva is another form of the same deity. ṣe is also given the name kanamśa in many editions of ḥ and is said to have come to raja for this vedding (GCU 33.3). ṭhe function of revelatrice is played by her in ṛupas ḻalṁ (10.261). ṣee note in ḥarivamsa (ed. araśuram ḻakśman aidya oona ṛī 1969) 791.